Enchilada Casserole; Perfect for Potlucks
I recently made this enchilada casserole for our end of the year preschool potluck. I really didn’t think people would be that into it. I used real cheese since almost everyone there can eat cheese and ground chicken. It disappeared! I mean I turned around and the pan was empty. Everyone loved it!
So, of course, I had to make it again with dairy free cheese so I could see how good it was. So I made it again with gluten free turkey chorizo, which was a new discovery by the way. I made one with regular cheese for the rest of the family too. They loved it. Even my four year old ate it and that is saying a lot because she is pretty picky, and doesn’t really like spicy food much.
So here is yet another version, but with baked chicken and veggies to make it a little more healthy.I made a chipotle red enchilada sauce. I served it with white Mexican rice to break up the tomato flavor.
I think it is the kind of thing you could put almost any protein in and it would be good. I also found a green gluten free enchilada sauce that is premade, so maybe I will try that on my next round. I am taking some food to some vegetarian friends who are expecting their baby anyday and I am going to try soy chorizo too!
So feel free to experiment. This is a recipe I made after reading 6 or 7 different versions so hopefully I managed to capture the best of them.
The recipe below is for a potluck sized dish 9 x 13. I cut it into 24 little squares. If you are making it for your family you can have lots of leftovers or adjust accordingly.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Tortillas
- Onion
- Garlic
- 1 can of fire roasted tomatoes
- 1 can of tomato sauce
- 1 can of chipotle peppers (I only used 1 pepper and a tbsp of the sauce since a kid was going to eat it.)
- 2 tsp of smoked paprika
- 1 tsp of cumin
- salt to taste
- 1 lime juiced
- 1 large can of beans of your choice. I picked refried pinto beans.
- 3 zuchinnis
- cheese of your choice, I used mexican shredded blend and oaxaca cheese on top, and follow your heart dairy free cheese inside and daiya on top
- protien of your choice this one was 6 baked and chopped chicken thighs
Instructions
- First marinate the chicken in the lime juice, salt, the cumin, and smoked paprika. Overnight if you can or just 20 minutes is fine. Put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until it reaches 160 degrees.
- Saute the onions and garlic. Take a little bit out and add it to the blender. Blend the tomato sauce with the onion, garlic, and 1 chipotle pepper plus one tablespoon of the sauce from the can. Set aside.
- Add the can of beans and add half a cup of water. Bring to a boil then leave on low for 30 minutes.
- Chop zuchinni and lightly saute it with olive oil
- When chicken is done take it out of the oven and let it cool then dice it.
- Spray the bottom of the pan with a little cooking spray. Add a layer of corn tortillas, top it with the beans, then the meat, zuchinni,the sauce and then the cheese and then the fire roasted tomatoes, repeat this for two to three layers depending on the depth of your dish, mine was 4 inches. Then for the top extra cheese, sauce, and fire roasted tomatoes.
- Right before you serve it or leave the house bake it for 20-30 minutes at 400 degrees. Since everything is already cooked you are really just melting the cheese and warming it up. Then put it in a sleeve for keeping it warm and way you go! Make sure not to burn yourself.
I made mine the night before and then popped it in the over right before we left. Covered it with tin foil and put it in a transporter sleeve. It stayed hot until it was served!
So best of luck with your summer potlucks! I hope this is a great new dish you and your family and friends will enjoy!